In 1868, Sisters St. Ange Escude, Clare Malone, and Mary Lefere left Galveston to teach in the school of St. Vincent Parish, Houston. It was agreed that they would stay for four years until Fr. Queret could find other teachers. In March, 1873, Father Querat, pastor of St. Vincent Church in Houston, asked Bishop Dubuis to ask Mother St. Claire in Victoria to send a few Sisters to found a house of the Order in Houston. Mother Gabriel Dillon, accompanied by Sisters Marie Terese Peronet and M. Lawrence, settled in Houston, residing in an old Franciscan monastery. The fourth American foundation was officially established on May 5, 1873. A few other Sisters soon joined them.

In November the Sisters moved into their partially built convent. It was difficult to stay warm, since the house was not plastered, the rooms had no ceiling, and the sky was easily seen through the roof. They often depended on the kindness of neighbors for their next meal. Nevertheless, in January, 1874, they opened Incarnate Word Academy, a four-year, all girls' high school. It is the oldest permanent Catholic school in Houston and the only school in the inner city.

In the latter part of the nineteenth century, Houston was a young, growing city of 10,000 people. As more Sisters arrived from France and Ireland, the Sisters opened new schools where needed. In the 1980's, the Sisters expanded their ministry to include new levels and areas of education.

Since then the Incarnate Word Sisters of Houston have served in Galveston-Houston, as well as in several other dioceses, including a mission in Guatemala.